The 15 Best Delta Blues Songs

“The blues are some of the most iconic sounds of America. What began in the South in the late 19th century as a mix of work songs and spirituals evolved into a mostly secular, acoustic guitar driven musical embodiment of suffering, struggle and—in the best case scenarios—triumph that proliferated during the early-to-mid 20th century. But the blues also encompass a range of regional dialects. The West Coast blues, mostly centered in California, incorporated more piano work and jazz influences during the 1940s, while the Chicago blues electrified some these sounds in the 1950s and ‘60s. The Hill Country blues of northern Mississippi used a rhythmic, repetitive style of guitar playing with mirrored vocals. But it was the Delta blues, hailing from the area surrounding the delta of the Mississippi River, which truly began the movement of the blues and encapsulates the style, genre and soul of what we now call, “the blues.””